Welcome

Galaxy Li, MD
Program Chair

Welcome to our Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine’s Inaugural Global Virtual Conference!

It is my honor to serve as conference chair and connect us to an international panel of experts in Australia, Great Britain, the United States, and New Zealand! No passport? No problem! Add to that no COVID-19 outbreaks, no airport stopovers, no flight delays, jetlag, vaccination or mask requirements, and we’re just getting started! It is my hope that you will enjoy our program in the comfort of your home wearing whatever you want, and in the company of your loved ones. Who knows, your dogs might actually learn a thing or two attending their first conference with you!

Historically, SPPM has celebrated the accomplishments of our fellow colleagues in pediatric pain management across the US with an annual in-person meeting, such as in Austin, TX or Colorado Springs, CO.  Our first conference outside of the continental US took place in 2020 and we followed that with an all-virtual meeting when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.  As our Society has grown in membership and with technological advancements, we have invited scientists outside of the US to join us. For the first time ever, our Society presents SPPM Global, featuring experts from across the world with evidence-based lectures reflecting “A Continuum of Acute and Chronic Pain.”

Our first stop will be with pediatric anesthesiologist and pain researcher Dr. Suellen Walker of University College London, who shares with us the latest in recognition and assessment of neuropathic pain in children. We’ll then visit Dr. Allison Fernandez in sunny Florida as she discusses the current project of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia Improvement Network (SPAIN) and learn about the varying techniques of perioperative analgesia in teenagers undergoing anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery of the knee. Next, it’s a trip north to Toronto, where Dr. Fiona Campbell bridges the gap between acute and chronic pain, introducing risk factors for chronic post-surgical pain in children. We’ll then hear from pediatric psychologist Dr. Katie Birnie in Calgary about a human-centered health service design to prevent prolonged post-surgical pain. A lively Q&A session will follow, and then you’ll have 15 minutes to calculate how many miles you’ve just virtually traveled for these wonderful talks…and the meeting’s just halfway through! Seriously, now’s the time to rinse off that ice cream you dripped on your shirt when your jaw dropped attending the conference! I learned the hard way last year at the SPPM Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL that not all stain sticks are equal when it comes to ice cream!

Session II opens with pediatric anesthesiologist and intensivist Dr. Geoff Frawley from the University of Melbourne and Paediatrics Royal Children’s Hospital in Australia, who will highlight the lessons learned from performing awake regional anesthesia in infants and their latest implications. We then journey to South Australia where University of Adelaide physical therapist Dr. Carolyn Berryman straddles the line between acute and chronic pain, enlightening us with her research on often cyclical and acute but sometimes chronic pain in complex regional pain syndrome. In a technological salute to the virtual format of SPPM Global, she discusses the accuracy, comprehensiveness, and credibility of websites available in Australia relating to CRPS treatment. Transitioning to chronic pain, we’ll then meet with pediatric palliative care and complex pain specialist Dr. Ross Drake of Starship Children’s Health in Auckland, New Zealand, who will outline the evolution of the role of palliative care and how it complements chronic pain management in children. Session II completes our roundtrip back to Melbourne, where we’ll learn from Dr. Forbes McGain similarities and differences in the carbon footprint between general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and combined anesthesia for knee surgery.

Dr. McGain’s findings are particularly relevant at a time when we reflect on the impact our healthcare practices have on the environment, and, as climate change has come to the forefront. Consider the notion that the air we are breathing now is cleaner with our collective choice to convene in cyberspace instead of flying and/or driving to a busy metropolitan area for the conference.  Although carbon offsets may not be necessary for our virtual SPPM Global Conference, the option will be available on our registration for the next in-person meeting in Austin, TX on March 30, 2023.  While you’re there, don’t forget to visit Dell Children’s Medical Center, the first hospital in the world to achieve platinum status under the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program sponsored by the United States Green Building Council. 

If you enjoy attending SPPM Global, please share with us your thoughts in the evaluations and consider joining our Society.  Your feedback is crucial for future meetings to come.

This conference would not be possible without the expert guidance of SPPM President Dr. Robert Wilder, SPPM Immediate Past President Dr. Rita Agarwal, SPPM Vice President and Education Committee Chair Dr. Yuan-Chi Lin, SPPM Communications Committee Chair Dr. Deepa Kattail, SPPM Global Conference Co-chair Dr. Jamie Kitzman, my department chair and friend Dr Carolyn Bannister, my wonderful spouse Kama, loving parents Mary and Anson, and the Ruggles team, especially Kim Battle, Stewart Hinkley, and Jenny Patterson.